Text Fwd: Lee and Obama confirm cooperation over N.Korea issues

* Image source: Hankyoreh

'U.S. President Barack Obama, left, shakes hands with South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak during a joint press conference at the Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, November 19, 2009.'


Lee and Obama confirm cooperation over N.Korea issues :Both presidents agreed that N.Korea should stop its belligerent actions against its neighbors
Posted on : May.19,2010 12:03 KST

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and U.S. President Barack Obama agreed during a telephone conversation Tuesday that North Korea needs to stop its belligerent actions and decided to boost efforts to cooperate, according to the Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House).

The Cheong Wa Dae also said the two leaders agreed that North Korea needed to comply with its duties under UN Security Council Resolution 1874 and keep its commitment to the international community to abandon its nuclear program.

The fact that the two leaders agreed that North Korea should stop its belligerent actions has been interpreted to mean that the two countries share the conclusion that North Korea sank the Cheonan and that they would cooperate on a follow-up response.

During the telephone conversation, President Lee said the international joint investigation team’s investigation has been proceeding scientifically and objectively in accordance with the initial goal. In response, President Obama said the U.S. fully trusts and supports Seoul’s response and the activities of the international investigation team. Obama also said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would be sent to South Korea next week to hold close discussions with Seoul regarding a follow-up response.

The Cheong Wa Dae said the two leaders agreed to convene foreign and defense minister talks (2 plus 2 talks) in Seoul on July 22 as part of efforts to reinforce South Korea’s security. The two leaders also agreed to hold a summit on the sidelines of the G20 meeting to be held in Canada in June.

“The two leaders emphasized the importance of obtaining a full account of the event and committed to follow the facts of the investigation wherever they lead,” stated a press release from the White House released today. “President Obama reaffirmed the strong and unwavering commitment of the United States to the defense and the well-being of its close friend and ally, the Republic of Korea.”

The press release also stated, “President Obama and President Lee reiterated that North Korea must live up to its commitment to eliminate its nuclear weapons program, comply with its international obligations under relevant UN Security Council resolutions, and put an end to belligerent behavior toward its neighbors.”

The Lee administration plans to call in to the Foreign Ministry on Wednesday the ambassadors of the six-party talk states and the UN Security Council, with the exception of the U.S. Those nations are to include China, Russia, Japan, the United Kingdom, France and the European Union. The administration plans to conduct a pre-release briefing of the results of the investigation into the sinking of the Cheonan and discuss possible responses.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani]

_________________________________________________________

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Text fwd: U.N. sanctions on N. Korea among U.S. foreign policy achievements: State Dept.

Yonhap News
U.N. sanctions on N. Korea among U.S. foreign policy achievements: State Dept.
By Hwang Doo-hyong

WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 (Yonhap) -- The State Department Wednesday listed international cooperation to impose sanctions on North Korea for its missile and nuclear tests as one of the key foreign policy achievements this year.

The U.S. has "maintained an international coalition which condemned North Korea's missile and nuclear tests through the adoption of U.S. Security Council Resolution 1874," the department said in a report titled "Strategic Goals and Results."

Among other achievements are a resumption of negotiations with Russia to replace the expiring Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), holding the first round of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue to discuss regional security concerns, nonproliferation, and military-to-military relations, the report said.

Text Fwd: North Korean arms plane 'has links to New Zealand'

* Image source: same as the link below

'(Rungroj Yongrit/EPA)
The impounded missile plane'

* Imformed at the Information Clearing House

Times Online
Dec. 17, 2009
Anne Barrowclough in Sydney

The mystery surrounding the missile-laden plane seized in Bangkok en route from North Korea deepened today as it emerged that the aircraft had links to a company based in New Zealand.

Officials in Georgia, where the plane is registered, told AFP news agency that the aircraft, which was carrying 35 tonnes of missiles and explosives, including rocket propelled grenades, was leased from its owner, Air West, by SP Trading, in Auckland.

The plane’s crew, from Kazakhstan and Belarus, were arrested last Friday after they made an emergency refuelling stop at Bangkok airport. They claimed that the plane was carrying oil drilling equipment but a tip-off from foreign intelligence services prompted a search of the plane that revealed the weapons. The five crew members continue to deny any knowledge of the weapons.

The Georgian director of Air West, Nodar Kakabadze, told AFP that his company had signed a contract with SP Trading on November 4 to “carry out some flights”.

He said: “I know nothing more about the company and we’d never worked with them before.”

The Wall Street Journal today reported that the lease agreement between Air West and SP Trading, a copy of which it had seen, listed a Lu Zhang as SP Trading’s director.

New Zealand Companies Office records seen by The Times confirm this and show that SP Trading was registered as a company in July.

A spokeswoman for the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade told The Times: “We are aware of the claims about this company and we are looking into them.”

SP Trading is registered through a company called GT Group Offshore, which has offices in Auckland but appears to be based in Vanuatu. On its website it offers “an extensive range of offshore company services for privacy, legal tax avoidance, asset protection, financial independence and freedom”.

The listed owner of SP Trading is an Auckland-based company called Vican, which, in turn, is owned by GT Group, according to the Companies Office records.

However, attempts to contact the organisation proved fruitless. When The Times rang Ian Taylor, listed as GT Group’s marketing manager, his phone rang out and he did not return messages. An Auckland phone number for Michael Taylor, who completed Lu Zhang’s form applying for directorship of SP Trading is no longer obtainable.

The Auckland number for GT Group no longer works and workers in the office block listed as its address said that they had never heard of the company. A woman who answered the Vanuatu number listed for the group insisted that no one who worked for the company was at that number.

In an email to New Zealand’s National Business Review newspaper, Michael Taylor denied that GT Group had anything to do with SP Trading and claimed that it was incorporated into the group on instruction from a UK-based company, which he did not name.

The founder of GT Group, Geoffrey Taylor, was born in Cleethorpes, South Humberside. According to his website, Mr Taylor is also a director of a corporate services company, Global Fin Net, which offers help on company formations as well as other financial services. Global Fin Net has offices in the UK, as well as Australia, New Zealand and New York. Mr Taylor did not respond to messages from The Times.

The weapons seizure is the largest since tighter UN sanctions were passed in June to curtail North Korea’s lucrative arms trade. It is thought that North Korea earns millions of dollars a year from arms trading and security experts hope that the Thailand case will shed light on how Pyongyang moves weapons around the world.

By Wednesday evening Thai officials had finished opening around 140 crates from the plane. A Thai government spokesman, Panitan Wattanayagorn, said that they would publish a report within a few days detailing what they had found. The weapons haul included surface to air missiles and tube launchers with computerised weapon controls, he said.

There are still no clues about the plane’s destination but Thai officials have said that the plane landed in Bangkok en route to Pyongyang before returning to Bangkok to refuel. Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban admitted that, when tipped off about the plane’s illicit cargo, officials tried to keep the plane out of Thai airspace to “avoid possible complications”.

Thai officials have previously said that the plane was due to fly to Sri Lanka next but Sri Lankan officials have denied knowledge of the flight. Security experts believe that the plane’s final destination was more likely to be the Middle East or Africa.

Earlier this week a respected Swedish think-tank linked the cargo plane, an Ilyushin-76, to two notorious East European arms dealers, the Serbian Tomislav Dmanjanovic and the Russian Viktor Bout, currently in a Thai jail awaiting extradition to the US on arms charges.

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Yonhap News
2009/12/19 03:57 KST
N. Korean weapons seized in Bangkok were headed for Middle East: intel chief
By Hwang Doo-hyong

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http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/12/text-fwd-us-pleased-to-see-n-korean.html
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Text Fwd: U.S. pleased to see N. Korean weapons seizure in Thailand: Clinton

Text Fwd: N.K. told Bosworth that U.N. sanctions are unreasonable: Seoul FM

*Image source: same as the link below

Yonhap News
N.K. told Bosworth that U.N. sanctions are unreasonable: Seoul FM
By Tony Chang

SEOUL, Dec. 16 (Yonhap) -- North Korea apparently told a visiting U.S. envoy that international sanctions imposed on Pyongyang over its long-range rocket launch were unreasonable, insisting the launch was for non-military purposes, Seoul's top diplomat said Wednesday.

"(I am) aware that North Korea delivered its position to U.S. special envoy Stephen Bosworth, who traveled to the North from Dec. 8 to 10, that the U.N. sanctions on the country are unreasonable," Yu Myung-hwan, Seoul's foreign minister, said at a press conference.

North Korea launched what it claimed was a satellite-bearing long-range rocket in April, drawing international condemnation for what regional powers said was a disguised test of missile technology. While Pyongyang insisted the satellite successfully entered orbit, outside monitors say no such object had been detected in space.

The U.N. Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution imposing financial and other sanctions on North Korea, which retaliated by withdrawing from ongoing six-party denuclearization talks also involving South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

Bosworth, a former U.S. ambassador to Seoul, made a three-day visit to Pyongyang last week, the first high-level contact with North Korea since the Obama administration took office in January.

He failed to obtain the North's commitment to return to the six-party talks, but said the participants "identified some common understandings" on the need to restart the multilateral forum. The talks have been deadlocked since the U.N. sanctions were imposed earlier this year following the North's nuclear and missile tests.

North Korea maintains that the rocket was launched as part of a "peaceful space program," Yu said, but the minister downplayed such claims.

"(The claim) is similar to its position arguing that the U.S. should drop its hostile policy towards the North before it returns to the six-party talks," said Yu, suggesting the remarks are part of the usual rhetoric put out by Pyongyang.

The minister "positively evaluated" Bosworth's trip to the North for "drawing out a common understanding" between Washington and Pyongyang over the need to maintain the six-party talks.

Yu also stated that other members of the talks were in unison over not rewarding the North for returning to the stalled dialogue, saying that the parties will continue to maintain a "two-track" strategy of sanctions and negotiations.

Bosworth's trip to Pyongyang had raised hopes for a breakthrough in the stalemate over denuclearizing North Korea, but he stressed the envoy held "exploratory talks, not negotiations" in Pyongyang.

odissy@yna.co.kr

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Text Fwd: U.S. pleased to see N. Korean weapons seizure in Thailand: Clinton

Yonhap News
2009/12/15 05:46 KST
(LEAD) U.S. pleased to see N. Korean weapons seizure in Thailand: Clinton
By Hwang Doo-hyong

WASHINGTON, Dec. 14 (Yonhap) -- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday that the U.S. welcomes Thailand's seizure of North Korean weapons on their way to a third country in violation of a U.N. arms embargo.

"We were very pleased to see the strong action taken by the Thais," Clinton said in a joint press availability with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos. "I think the actions by the Thai government to detain the plane that is apparently carrying significant amounts of weapons demonstrates the importance of international solidarity behind the sanctions that were adopted at the United Nations earlier this year."

Thai authorities seized 35 tons of explosives, rocket-propelled grenades and missile parts on a Georgia-registered flight Saturday when the plane landed in Bangkok for refueling.

Thai authorities reportedly said that they were tipped off by the U.S.

They said they confiscated the North Korean arms under U.N. resolutions adopted after North Korea's nuclear and missile tests earlier this year.

The resolutions call for an overall arms embargo and financial sanctions and interdiction of cargo on the high seas to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, missiles, other weapons of mass destruction and conventional arms.

Arms sales are one of the major sources of revenue for North Korea, which has long been under international financial sanctions led by the U.S.

"I don't think anyone should be surprised that North Korea is continuing to attempt to evade the sanctions and export around the world, because that is their principal source of foreign currency," Clinton said. "They have a need to continue to sell the one thing that they can export."

North Korea is suspected of being behind nuclear and missile proliferation in Syria, Iran, Pakistan and several other countries in the Middle East.

The United Arab Emirates in July seized a Bahamian-flagged ship carrying North Korean rocket-propelled grenades and other conventional weapons labeled as machine parts, the first seizure of its kind since the Security Council adopted Resolution 1874 in June after North Korea's nuclear test in May.

India seized a North Korean ship off its coast in early August only to find no weapons aboard.

In late June, a North Korean cargo ship, possibly on its way to Myanmar, returned home after being closely tracked by U.S. Navy vessels.

At a daily news briefing, State Department spokesman Ian Kelly said the U.S. does not know the intended destination of the most recent North Korean shipment.

"The investigation of the incident is ongoing," he said. "And part of that investigation is to determine where exactly the shipment was headed."

Another State Department official, asking anonymity, said, "It's not unreasonable to suspect it is going to a neighboring country," apparently referring to Myanmar, a suspected North Korean client and a short hop from Thailand.

Kelly commended the Thai officials "for their swift and efficient action" in implementing U.N. resolutions.

"The next step here will be to report this incident to the U.N.'s North Korea Sanctions Committee, the so-called 1718 committee, which has a mandate to investigate and take appropriate action in response to incidents like this," he said.

The seizure comes as the United States has broken diplomatic ice with North Korea.

Stephen Bosworth, special representative for North Korea policy, made his first visit to Pyongyang last week to persuade North Korea to come back to six-party talks on ending the North's denuclearization.

Bosworth said that he failed to obtain the North's commitment to return to the six-party talks, but added the sides have "identified some common understandings" on the need to restart the six-party talks. The talks involving the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan have been deadlocked since the U.N. sanctions.

A 2005 six-party deal calls for the North's nuclear dismantlement in return for massive economic aid, the normalization of ties between the North and the U.S. and Japan, and the establishment of a peace regime to replace the armistice signed at the end of Korean War in 1953.

Clinton last week described Bosworth's meeting, the first since the inauguration of President Barack Obama in January, as "quite positive," stressing the need for "strategic patience" in dealing with the reclusive communist state.

Philip Crowley, assistant secretary of state for public affairs, said last week Washington is ready to have another high-level meeting with North Korea toward reopening the six-party talks.

Crowley also said that the U.S. will continue sanctions, and expressed confidence Pyongyang will eventually return to the six-party talks "because, otherwise, the alternative is we will continue to aggressively enforce sanctions through continued consultations with the other partners in the six-party process."

Asked on the possible impact on the North Korean weapons seizure on the international efforts to revive the six-party talks, a State Department official, asking anonymity, said, "We are going to robustly implement 1874. At the same time, we want North Korea to return to six-party talks to discuss this real priority of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula."

On the reports that the U.S. has agreed to have four-party talks, which also includes South Korea and China, to forge a peace treaty to replace the armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War, the anonymous official said, "We can look at a number of different ways of engaging with them on non-nuclear issues within the context of the six-party talks."

"Once we get the six-party talks going again, there is a mechanism to have bilateral talks," he said. "However, we are not going to go to step two before we get to step one."

hdh@yna.co.kr

Text Fwd: U.S. exports to N. Korea declined dramatically due to U.N. sanctions: Commerce Dept.

* Yonhap News
2009/11/17 06:50 KST
U.S. exports to N. Korea declined dramatically due to U.N. sanctions: Commerce Dept.
By Hwang Doo-hyong

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (Yonhap) -- U.S. exports to North Korea declined dramatically for the first seven months of this year due to international sanctions on the North after Pyongyang's nuclear and missile tests, U.S. government figures show.

The U.S. shipped US$400,000 worth of products to North Korea during the January-July period, down from $52.2 million for the whole year of 2008, statistics from the Department of Commerce said.

The U.S. has actively joined U.N. resolutions adopted this year to impose financial sanctions and an overall arms embargo on North Korea, blacklisting several firms, financial institutions and individuals for their involvement in the development, production and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

North Korea has in return boycotted the six-nation talks on ending its nuclear weapons programs, although it recently hinted at returning to the stalled negotiations pending the outcome of imminent bilateral talks with the U.S.

Stephen Bosworth, special representative for North Korea policy, is set to visit Pyongyang early next month to woo the North back to the nuclear talks amid growing skepticism that the North will abandon its nuclear arsenal.

As far back as 2002, according to recent reports citing Japanese foreign ministry dossiers, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il told then-Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in Pyongyang that North Korea needs nuclear weapons so as not to become another Iraq, which was invaded by U.S. troops in 2003.

Kim was also quoted as saying that China and Russia had already agreed to the North's nuclear armament.

Of the total U.S. exports last year, cereals accounted for the bulk, worth $43.4 million, followed by $4.6 million worth of oil seed, fruits and grain seed and $2.2 million of animal and vegetable fats and oils.

The total value of U.S. shipments to North Korea for the past decade was $120.2 million, with the U.S. importing $100,000 worth of goods each in 2000 and 2002 and $1.5 million in 2004.

The total shipments break down to $52.2 million in 2008, $1.7 million in 2007, $5.8 million in 2005, $23.8 million in 2004, $8 million in 2003, $25.1 million in 2002, $500,000 in 2001 and $2.7 million in 2000.

No two-way trading was reported in 2006, when North Korea detonated its first nuclear device and conducted several missile tests, inviting U.N. sanctions.

hdh@yna.co.kr


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2009/11/17 09:34 KST
Inter-Korean trade grows for 2nd straight month in Oct.


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http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/11/text-fwd-obama-warns-n-korea-of.html
Friday, November 13, 2009
Text Fwd: Obama warns N. Korea of continued sanctions unless it denuclearizes

Video Fwd: Who threatens Peace, North Korea or United States?

* Video 1
North Korean ambassador talks to Al Jazeera - 15 Apr 09



* Video 2
The long road to Korean reunification - 21 Sep 07

Text Fwd: Obama warns N. Korea of continued sanctions unless it denuclearizes

* image source: Yonhap News

Yonhap News
Obama warns N. Korea of continued sanctions unless it denuclearizes
2009/11/13 12:00 KST
By Hwang Doo-hyong

WASHINGTON, Nov. 12 (Yonhap) -- U.S. President Barack Obama warned Thursday North Korea will face continued international sanctions unless it returns to the six-party talks and takes irreversible steps toward its denuclearization.

Obama made his remarks in an exclusive written interview with Yonhap News Agency just hours before he left Washington for an eight-day trip that brings him to South Korea, Japan, China and Singapore.

"This is the choice that North Korea faces," Obama said. "North Korea has the opportunity to move towards acceptance by the international community if it will comply with its international obligations and live up to its own commitments. By taking irreversible steps towards the complete elimination of its nuclear program, North Korea will be following the peaceful path towards security and respect."

Obama's remarks follow a rare inter-Korean skirmish Tuesday, which crippled a North Korean patrol ship that *intruded[* This word itself is in controversy because of the different dispute on the NLL] South Korean waters and ignored warning shots, prompting media speculation that North Korea is trying to attract U.S. attention ahead of Obama's visit to Seoul next week.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Wednesday said the naval clash will not affect U.S. plans to send Stephen Bosworth, special representative for North Korea policy, to Pyongyang "in the near future" as part of the six-party process.

The State Department said Tuesday the U.S. point man on North Korea will visit Pyongyang "sometime between now and the end of the year" to discuss resumption of the six-party talks, deadlocked over U.N. sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear and missile tests.

Obama said his administration is ready to have a bilateral dialogue with North Korea within the six-party framework.

"We believe the six-party talks are the best framework for reaching peaceful resolution and that the September 2005 Joint Statement clearly lays out the goals we must achieve," he said. "We are open to a bilateral meeting as part of the six-party process if that will lead to an expeditious resumption of the denuclearization negotiations."

The 2005 deal calls for the North's nuclear dismantlement in return for hefty economic aid, diplomatic recognition and establishment of a permanent peace regime on the Korean Peninsula to replace the fragile armistice that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

The U.S. president, however, warned that the North will continue facing international sanctions unless it abandons its nuclear ambitions.

"North Korea's attempt to acquire weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them is destabilizing and represents a threat to peace and security," he said. "This is why the United Nations Security Council adopted strong measures under Resolution 1874 and why the U.N. members states are enforcing the provisions of those resolutions."

The U.S. sees the North's recent conciliatory overtures as the result of international financial sanctions and an overall arms embargo effectively cutting off revenues from arms sales, the only source of hard currency for the impoverished communist state.

Philip Crowley, State Department spokesman, said Monday, "We have to believe that North Korea has felt, you know, some of that pressure. So you've seen a shift in their strategy, the so-called charm offensive that they have engaged in for the past couple of months."

Jeffrey Bader, senior director for East Asian affairs at the National Security Council, last week dismissed the North's gestures as traditional brinkmanship, saying, "Once the cycle of provocations was completed, North Korea sat back to wait for a newer package of concessions from the U.S."

Bader called on the North to show "genuine signs" of its intent to denuclearize, saying, "If we see that, there is no problem with bilateral contacts either in Pyongyang or elsewhere. We are not interested in talks for talks' sake. We are not interested in endorsing North Korea's dream of validation of a self-claimed nuclear power."

Obama said the North's denuclearization will bring the impoverished communist state peace and prosperity.

"Pursuit of nuclear weapons and missile delivery systems makes North Korea and the region less secure, whereas negotiations in the six-party process to achieve the peaceful denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula can bring security and prosperity to North Korea and the region," he said.

Obama said that North Korea will be a top issue at the summit meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in Seoul next week.

"North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities are a grave concern, not only to the Republic of Korea and the United States, but to the international community," he said. "This is an issue that President Lee and I have discussed in depth and we will hold consultations on this and other subjects in Seoul later this month."

Obama also said he will seek a comprehensive resolution of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, putting an end to the controversy over the so-called grand bargain approach Lee recently proposed for the denuclearization of North Korea through a comprehensive deal rather than a piecemeal approach.

"President Lee and I are in full agreement on the need to achieve a comprehensive resolution of the nuclear, missile, and proliferation problems, and cooperation between our two governments is extremely close," he said.

The grand bargain envisions a package deal in which members of the six-nation talks provide Pyongyang with security guarantees, massive economic aid and other incentives in return for a complete deal that does not necessitate further negotiations.

A senior White House official last week said Lee and Obama do not differ on the grand bargain.

"The old approach of trying in small increments is to give a little bit to North Korea and hope that will lead to some kind of progress," he said. "That approach has had a serious flaw. Instead, what is necessary is for there to be a more comprehensive resolution of the North Korean nuclear problem.

"My understanding of the grand bargain concept is that there should be a definitive, comprehensive set of measures on economic assistance and other political areas that would move North Korea out of the darkness into the community of Northeast Asia, and that is an approach we completely agree with," he said.

The idea comes as a result of loopholes in the two six-party deals signed by the Koreas, the U.S., China, Japan and Russia in previous years that outlined phased denuclearization for the North.

"The [Feb. 13], 2007 agreement is nothing more than a declaration on North Korea's nuclear dismantlement that lacks a road map for its implementation," a senior South Korean official said recently. "The Sept. 19, 2005, agreement, which is about North Korea's nuclear reactor and reprocessing facilities at Yongbyon, does not address North Korea's existing nuclear arsenal."

hdh@yna.co.kr


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http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/11/blog-post.html
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Text Fwd: USA to launch ICBM on Nov 18 from Vandenberg Air Force Base to the Marshall Islands

http://nobasestorieskorea.blogspot.com/2009/10/what-they-dont-tell-you.html
[국문 번역] WHAT THEY DON'T TELL YOU
Oct. 12, 2009

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Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Text Fwd: 'US Braces for Possible Nuke War With NK'

Text Fwd: U.S. delegation in Middle East on N. Korea sanctions implementation: State Dept.

Yonhap News
2009/10/03 05:50 KST
U.S. delegation in Middle East on N. Korea sanctions implementation: State Dept.
By Hwang Doo-hyong

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- A U.S. delegation is traveling to the United Arab Emirates and Egypt to discuss implementation of U.N. sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear and missile tests, the State Department said Friday.

"Ambassador Phil Goldberg, our coordinator for implementation of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1874, is leading an interagency delegation which includes Treasury Deputy Assistant Secretary Danny Glaser," spokesman Ian Kelly said. "They were in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, October 1st, with meetings with Emirati officials regarding implementation of sanctions on North Korea as called for in U.N. Security Council Resolution 1874."

Resolution 1874 was adopted after North Korea's second nuclear test in May, after one in 2006, to call for an overall arms embargo and financial sanctions and interdiction of cargo on the high seas to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons, missiles and other weapons of mass destruction.

Kelly said that the U.S. delegation will also travel to Cairo Sunday to meet with Egyptian officials on implementation of the North Korea sanctions before returning to Washington Monday.

"We've long been concerned about North Korea's proliferation activities in the Middle East, so this is part of that, and this is part of his overall effort to ensure that the -- that this U.N. Security Council resolution and other relevant resolutions are implemented," the spokesman said, referring to Goldberg.

Kelly dismissed the allegation that the UAE and Egypt are problem states concerning North Korea's nuclear and missile proliferation, saying, "Well, not necessarily."

"I think that these are countries that can help us identify areas where we can deal with this problem of proliferation from North Korea," the spokesman said. "He will continue to meet with partners, not only in the Middle East, but also, of course, in Asia."

North Korea has long been suspected of being behind nuclear and missile proliferation in Syria, Iran, Pakistan and several other countries in the Middle East.

The UAE in July seized a Bahamian-flagged ship carrying North Korean rocket-propelled grenades and other conventional weapons labeled as machine parts, the first seizure of its kind that effectively intercepted a North Korean arms shipment since the Security Council adopted Resolution 1874 in June after North Korea's nuclear test in May.

India seized a North Korean ship off its coast in early August only to find no weapons aboard.

In late June, a North Korean cargo ship, possibly on its way to Myanmar, returned home after being closely chased by U.S. Navy vessels.

Goldberg recently concluded an Asian tour, including stops in Seoul and Tokyo, and pledged to push ahead with financial and other sanctions against the cash-strapped North. Arms sales are one of North Korea's major sources of revenue.

Despite a series of conciliatory gestures by the North to reach out to the outside world after months of provocations, the U.S. has said it will continue to observe U.N. sanctions, and has yet to respond to Pyongyang's call for bilateral talks.

North Korea has said it will boycott the six-party talks on its denuclearization permanently due to the U.N. sanctions, but recently invited Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special representative for North Korea policy, to Pyongyang.

U.S. officials said they will soon make a decision on whether to send Bosworth to Pyongyang to persuade the North to come back to the six-party talks, although they pledged not to try to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through bilateral talks.

Any decision will likely be made after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visits Pyongyang early next week on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of normalization of Chinese-North Korean ties. There are reports that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il may make an important announcement on the six-party talks at that time.

Bosworth said Tuesday that the Barack Obama administration does not have a military option on the table regarding North Korea's denuclearization.

"There is no military solution," he said. "Containment does not give long-term results. Negotiations are the way forward."

hdh@yna.co.kr

Text Fwd: India Seizes 'Suspicious' N.Korean Ship

* Image Source/ description: Same as below
'In this photo provided by the Indian Coast Guard, officials from the Coast Guard and other agencies interrogate occupants of the North Korean vessel In this photo provided by the Indian Coast Guard, officials from the Coast Guard and other agencies interrogate occupants of the North Korean vessel "MV Musan," seated, after it was detained in Port Blair, India on Thursday. /AP-Yonhap'

Chosun Ilbo(The most conservative right wing newspaper in the South Korea)
India Seizes 'Suspicious' N.Korean Ship
Aug. 10, 2009

Indian coast guards last Thursday seized a North Korean ship after a six-hour chase and have been investigating since. The MV Musan fled after illegally casting anchor in waters near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Times of India reported Sunday.

This was the first time a foreign country has actually seized a North Korean ship since the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1874 in June sanctioning North Korea for a nuclear test in May in defiance of international prohibitions.

The MV Musan's crew told Indian authorities they been transporting sugar from Thailand to Umm Qasr, Iraq. The coast guard said the ship had cast anchor in Indian waters without permission and failed to respond to signals, stopping only when shots were fired in the air. India accuses the crew of behaving "suspiciously," including making inaccurate log entries.

The MV Musan had traveled between North Korea and China without making proper log entries and cast anchor at Singapore on June 30 without recording the fact.

The ship is under investigation by a team composed of Indian Army, Navy and intelligence agencies after it was towed to Port Blair on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Reuters reported.

Indian Authorities searched the MV Musan, and confirmed it only carries sugar, but the investigation will continue considering because another North Korean ship had been found to carry missile parts in the past, the Times of India said.

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No Sanction agaict the NK! Dialogue with the NK!

* Original site/ images
Solidarity for Peace And Reunification of Korea(SPARK)

* SPARK English site

118th Anti-US imperialism rally on July 14, 2009

Stop the sanction against the NK!
Open the direct dialogue between the US-NK!
Oppose the redraft to Afghanistan!
Oppose the Re-Extension of the draft to Lebanon !
Denounce the USFK enforcement for the ensuring the rental of the USFK family housing!

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